10 reasons to watch tonight's 'UFC Fight Night 33: Hunt vs. Bigfoot'

10 reasons to watch tonight's 'UFC Fight Night 33: Hunt vs. Bigfoot'

Aussie-Aussie-Aussie, MMA fans. It’s been one year since the octagon last touched down in Australia, and the promotion has brought bigger names back for tonight’s UFC Fight Night 33 event.

Top 10 heavyweight Antonio Silva and fan favorite Mark Hunt headline the card along with former light heavyweight champion Mauricio Rua in the co-headliner. Tough, exciting fighters support the bill.

While the fans Down Under have yet to see a championship match, there’s far more star power on display than 2012’s UFC on FX 6 event, which served as the finale to “The Ultimate Fighter: Smashes” and was headlined by coaches Ross Pearson and George Sotiropoulos.

However, the biggest potential winner of tonight’s card is not one of the more established names. Instead, it’s light heavyweight James Te Huna, who stands to notch his biggest win to date if he can beat Rua.

While popular, the event’s top draws all are coming off setbacks. Silva lost to champ Velasquez for the second time while Hunt had his four-fight fight winning streak snapped by ex-champ Junior dos Santos earlier this year. Chael Sonnen submitted Rua in his previous outing, and Te Huna tapped to Glover Teixeira his most recent time out.

Still, Tom Wright, the UFC’s director of Canadian, Australian and New Zealand operations, said on Wednesday that only single tickets remained on sale for the event and confidently predicted more than 12,000 fans will be in attendance.

1. Somebody’s getting knocked out (or, ground to a pulp). When Hunt (9-8 MMA, 4-2 UFC) finds his target, his fists hurt opponents, if they don’t crumble immediately. Silva (18-5 MMA, 2-2 UFC) presents a big target to hit, and if he doesn’t keep his hands high, he’s going to sleep early. Silva believes he’s still got another title run left in him, so it’s doubtful he’ll stand in front of Hunt for too long. Whether Hunt is capable of winning the fight on the feet or on the mat is the question here.

2. Rua’s ticket to middleweight, or retirement? This week, Mauricio Rua acknowledged that his fighting style probably has taken years off his life. He told MMAjunkie that though he tries to fight smarter, he gets emotional and goes all out.

Recently, diminishing returns are behind UFC President Dana White’s recent comments that Rua (21-8 MMA, 5-6 UFC) should retire or move to middleweight, and while “Shogun” doesn’t sound like he’s on board with that idea, he might not have a choice. Lose to Te Huna (16-6 MMA, 5-2 UFC), a tough but largely nondescript opponent, and this could be the last time we see him at 205 pounds.

3. Bader looking for perfect fight, Perosh for respect. “The Ultimate Fighter 8” winner Ryan Bader(15-4 MMA, 8-4 UFC) has put together solid wins against flagging greats, but he has yet to beat a top-level fighter in his prime. Anthony Perosh (14-7 MMA, 4-4 UFC) isn’t that guy, of course. At the media day for Saturday’s event, he sat alone for quite a while as more popular fighters were interviewed. He is, however, an opponent who motivates Bader to put on the type of performance that kept people interested after his reality-show turn.

4. Did we mention somebody’s getting knocked out? Sure, heavyweight Soa Palelei (19-3 MMA, 1-1 UFC) could avoid a slugfest and take down fellow light heavyweight Pat Barry (8-6 MMA, 5-6 UFC), or even vice versa. They should hurt each other long before that happens, though. When they trade, and they will, one is going to come out on the wrong end of things, and a finish shouldn’t be long from then.

5. Friendly fire.Dylan Andrews (17-4 MMA, 2-0 UFC) said he and middleweight opponent Clint Hester (8-3 MMA, 1-0 UFC) still talk on an email list dedicated to veterans of “TUF 17.” In fact, he said, they spoke just a few days before heading to Australia and might be sharing mat space after the fight. At the weigh-ins, they were all smiles as they faced off. But when the bell rings, they will punch a friend in the face.

6. Vet’s exit, or newcomer’s arrival. Something isn’t clicking for Julie Kedzie (16-12 MMA, 0-1 UFC) in big shows, and she’s dropped her past three fights. To stay in the UFC, she’s got to pull it together against first-time octagon combatant and fellow 135-pounder Bethe Correia (6-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC), who’s undefeated in six pro fights. Kedzie doesn’t seem flustered by her opponent, at least. She didn’t flinch during a tense staredown. We’ll see who’s really suffering from nerves in the cage.

7. Under-appreciated Mizugaki tries to make it four in a row.Takeya Mizugaki (18-7-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC) isn’t on an eight-year tear in the bantamweight class, and he’s lost to several of the division’s top fighters. But if he beats the historically uneven Nam Phan (18-11 MMA, 2-4 UFC), he’ll have put together a solid winning streak that deserves notice. Stylistically, Phan should make him work for every second of victory with sharp boxing combinations. This should be a fun fight.

8. Undefeated flyweight prospect joins the fray.Justin Scoggins (7-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) is undefeated and has stopped five of his opponents by TKO or KO. He gets a chance to prove he’s not beaten local-circuit cans when he meets “TUF: Smashes” vet Richie Vaculik (9-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC), who bulked up to lightweight to compete on the reality show.

9. Identical records, inaugural loss for one new middleweight. Both Bruno Santos (13-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) and Krzysztof Jotko (13-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) carry the same resume, though we’ll see whether their level of previous competition was identical in getting to the UFC. Santos managed to beat “The Arm Collector,” Giva Santana, in a previous showing for Bellator. Jotko’s list of victims isn’t much more illustrious. Nonetheless, someone’s “0” has got to go.

10. Support your local (or international) cage promoter. A ridiculous ban on the cage in Southern and Western Australia is holding up the UFC’s expansion in the country, and it’s ultimately denying fans a chance to watch the sport live. It may be that political change is the only way we’ll see the octagon around the country, but along with sold-out shows, big broadcast numbers lend moral support to the cause.

ALBANY, N.Y. – MMAjunkie is on scene and reporting live from today’s UFC Fight Night 102 event at Times Union Center in Albany, N.Y., which kicks off at 5:45 p.m. ET (2:45 p.m. PT). You can discuss the event here.

ALBANY, N.Y. – The way Gian Villante and Saparbek Safarov went at each other, it was clear neither man was interested in a tactical chess match. Instead, what they wanted was a brawl, and that’s exactly what they got, as Villante (15-7 MMA, 5-3 UFC) battered (…)

ALBANY, N.Y. – After missing weight for her second UFC bout, Justine Kish came out trying to bully octagon newcomer Ashley Yoder. At several points, it got Kish (6-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) in trouble. But her relentless standup attack eventually won the day, with judges (…)